The most recent release in Martin’s seven book long series A Dance with Dragons is what turns out to essentially be the missing pieces from A Feast for Crows. Where the first book covered the lives of key characters in King’s Landing and Westeros, A Dance with Dragons is the story of the characters in the cold North and the Nine Free Cities: in this instalment we follow Jon Snow, Davos Seaworth, the Ironmen who hold castles in the North as well as the Dragon Queen Daenerys Targaryen and the exiled kinslayer Tyrion Lannister.

Again, as with the previous couple of books new characters are given their own point of view chapters through which to tell their stories, and as with the previous couple of books some of these chapters are far weaker than the others.

Still the strongest stories lie in the North and the main battle behind the walls of King’s Landing – although you are treated to scarcely any of the latter in this book – whilst others, including the newly introduced character of Quentyn Martell, Prince of Dorne, seem to add little to the plot as a whole and can on occasion seem solely to exist to force the reader to wait a few pages before they are able to read more of their favourite characters. If this was a ploy to further tension however it fails massively and rather leaves you frustrated and distracted so that once you return to the key stories at hand you have forgotten certain features.

As far as the plot goes, A Dance with Dragons is a simple continuation of what has gone on before hand. Jon Snow is still Commander of the Night’s Watch, who have now been relieved of their guest King Stannis, yet his Queen and priestess still remain. Both of whom have a massive impact upon the story, helping to add to the constant vein of friction and tension that flow behind the Wall.

Upon reflection this book is the fulfilment of several prophecies and sees the beginning of several characters’ ascension into maturity and completion. Like Jon, Daenerys is exactly the same place she was at the end of the last book, yet by the close of A Dance with Dragons she has taken a huge step toward becoming the Queen she has always promised, and threatened, to be. Whilst the re-emergence of Arya Stark allows the reader to see a definite progression in her character’s story line, which also allows the reader to slip into the impotent magic and mysticism of the Stark family. Having always been a favourite character of mine Arya’s is a welcome return to the book’s original protagonists and mysteries.

What becomes the biggest disappoint in the book is most likely fully intentional on Martin’s side; the tiny encounter with Brandon Stark as he meets the “three-eyed crow” and learns to use the gift his family all appear to be blessed with leave you hungry for more of the boy’s story. Yet the mentions of Bran are sparse at best and I imagine Martin did this to keep the mystery and tension behind the strangest and most magical aspect of the story. Yet somehow you simply feel cheated and confused, this aspect of the story holds such promise and intrigue but Martin appears to be holding off on revealing the secrets of Bran’s adventure. As of yet we still do not know who their dead guide was, although I have my own suspicions; we are granted a taste of what the faces of the Old Gods see through the great weir wood trees, but nothing of particular interest is revealed through their eyes.

Far be it for me to predict the direction of Martin’s epic fantasy tale, as I am sure the more insignificant stories will add vital details to the finale, however at the moment they seem only to kill time between points of interest or intrigue.

In other ways some of the best revelations of the series crop up in this book, things that will leave you agog and desperate to read on. The briefest mention of Rickon Stark is tantalizingly intriguing, whilst the secret identities of a singer and a murderer are revealed to us, although upon reflection I found myself thinking how blindingly obvious it must have been to the more astute reader.

As with the other four books of course the story and characters are written very well, the key characters in particular become very familiar and believable and of course the book is an essential read to complete the series, however it is far from the best of the group. Not to say that it is the weakest, that right is reserved for its predecessor A Feast for Crows, but if A Dance with Dragons is a sign of what is yet to come from Martin is suggests that he may not finish as well as he began when he wrote A Game of Thrones.

One can hold out some hope however as in A Dance with Dragons Martin displays a deft ability to pull the threads of several stories together and weave them into a brilliant conclusion. Whilst toward the end of the book you find yourself back in the familiar arms of Martin’s tense and intriguing fantasy drama. It is a strange sensation as you go from waiting for the story to kick in to suddenly being completely enthralled, and then just as suddenly the book is finished and you find yourself, as is Martin’s wont, wide eyed and opened mouthed at the cliff-hangers left to you.

Even the epilogue, which is told through the eyes of Kevan Lannister, is full of shock and intrigue and will leave you desperate for the next instalment in the Song of Ice and Fire series.

With all the book’s faults the re-introduction of characters such as Arya Stark and the brief appearances of Bran along with the brilliant chapters involving Jon Snow and Melisande make the book worth reading in the end. Despite all its faults, the predictable and uneventful chapters of Asha Greyjoy and the notable absence of Sansa Stark – whose story was finally beginning to get interesting – A Dance with Dragons is full of promise and raises expectations for the final two books.

The fourth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, A Feast for Crows continues the story of the War of the Five Kings of Westeros, the fate of the Night’s Watch and those beyond the Wall in the North and the plight of the true queen of Westeros, Daenerys Tagaryen who dwells across the Narrow Sea in one of the Nine Free Cities.

At least, that is the expectation. What in fact occurs in the book is the story of Westeros: King’s Landing, the river lands and the Eeyrie. The tales of Queen Regent Cersei Baratheon and her son King Tommen are tales of deep deceit, treachery and distrust. Whilst the story of her twin brother Jamie is one of rebirth and readjustment to his new role and duties in life.

The beautiful blonde Cersei is at court surrounded by people she can not trust, her father is dead, she is betrayed by both of her brothers and she fears constantly for the life of her young King. Fickle attempts to bind other wealthy and powerful families to her son’s cause have left Cersei with a council often torn by loyalty and ambition and as the book progresses Cersei’s power over her court slowly ebbs away. Eventually she becomes so overwhelmed by fear and suspicion that even her wits seem to dwindle and she starts making rash decisions, and disreputable allies.

Jamie Lannister, a once feared and fabled knight now finds himself short of a sword hand and back in King’s Landing as the head of his bastard son Tommens’ King’s Guard. Although Jamie has long been wearing the White Cloak of his rank he finds himself changed after the torments of captivity and torture; eventually leading him to make a secret pact to ensure the safety of his sister’s enemy for the sake of his own honour.

The stories of Jamie and his sister could not really be more different, where Jamie is learning things he never knew about himself, Cersei is becoming more and more isolated. Her thoughts, though logical in her head, are outrageous and treasonous, whilst Jamie finds himself turned more toward the honour of knighthood. A man once feared for his deadly skill with a blade finds himself ending sieges without bloodshed and making treaties so as to save the lives of his enemies. In many ways the two stories mirror one another, whilst Jamie’s chapters leave you with a sense of hope and defiance, Cersei’s chapters seem sullied with secrets and deceit, they are peppered with almost pornographic sex scenes that only further the already soiled image of Cersei, whilst her brother’s head is filled with tales of knights and valour.

A third story stems from the story of Jamie Lannister, that of Brienne of Tarth. At Jamie’s behest she is in search of Sansa Stark, who many believe is the last remaining child of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully. Blessed with Jamie’s own sword, now named Oathkeeper, Brienne travels across the lands of Westeros in search of any lead she can find. This part of the story is strange to read, as you are simultaneously reading of the true whereabouts of Sansa Stark. Yet with Brienne you meet characters you have come across previously, but now they are strangers to you: Gendry, the bastard of dead king Robert Baratheon, murderous madman Rorge and even the Red Priest Thoros of Myr cross your path and leave you wanting to shout into the pages as you know they have the answers Brienne seeks. Yet the finale of Brienne’s chapters leave you feeling as though it was all a little pointless, you did not expect her to discover Sansa’s whereabouts but somehow you can’t help but feel as though you ought to have learnt more. Brienne’s chapters provide you with nothing new to add to the collective bank of information and mysteries that have gathered over the series, they simply leave you feeling shocked and disappointed when she meets her unexpected fate.

Meanwhile Sansa and Arya Stark, the daughters of Eddard and Catelyn, are on opposite sides of the world: Sansa is in the Eeryie disguised as the bastard daughter of Petyr Baelish, whilst Arya finds herself in Bravoos, learning the ways of the Many Faced God. These chapters both sparkle in their own ways and like the Cersei and Jamie chapters show off Martin’s excellent ability to engulf you in his words.

Sansa’s chapters are snow white and frozen ice, reflected the chill within her. Forced to hide who she truly is Sansa feels almost overwhelmed by the weight of her disguise and with every sentence you can hear her true identify struggling in the cold depths of the mountain. Arya Stark is a particularly favourite character of mine and her feisty personality and desire for adventure explode like fireworks in the strangely neon city of Bravoos; where the rich where black, the poor bright colours and all worship the pale face of the Many Faced God. The finale to Arya’s chapters will bite into you like a hungry wolf and leave you agog and desperate to know more. Here Martin refuses you and simply leaves you starving.

The appearance of Samwell Tarly of the Night’s Watch is also another excellent series of chapters, his sweet nature and dark secrets are somehow humbling and humanizing and give the book a gentle and emotional feel.

These chapters, along with those of Arya Stark, are by far the strongest of the whole book. The other chapters, although Jamie’s and Sansa’s are full of intrigue, simply do not drive the plot forward enough. The war seems to be at a standstill and thus so is the plot. The introduction of Arianne of Dorne and the fighting men of the Iron Islands does little but kill time between interesting chapters and the marked absence of certain other characters makes you wonder how much of the book was simply created to make up the word count. Martin has included an appendix at the end of the book in which he explains his decision to remove the characters of Tyrion, Jon Snow, Brandon Stark and Dany from the entire book yet somehow, upon completion, you can’t help but wonder if it was a mistake.

A Storm of Swords is the third in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire and is to date the longest of all the books published. In the United Kingdom the book was published in two halves, respectively called Steel and Snow and Blood and Gold. The novels are set in a factious war torn world, where five kings are battling for the throne and long lost magic’s are slowly reawakening. The story picks up a little before the ending of the previous book A Clash of Kings and opens in a prologue of men of the Nights Watch, a group of sworn brothers, dressed in black and devoted to protected to realm of the Seven Kingdoms from the dangers of unknown magic and lawless free folk that live beyond the 700 foot wall of ice that marks the end of the civilized world.

The prologue sets the tone for the rest of the book, which is full of death, dark magic and gut wrenching tension and tragedy; yet even this does not prepare you for some of the shocks in the pages that follow.

You are re-introduced to characters known to you previously, but in a new light as many of them are now given their own point of view chapters through which the stories are told. Most notably Ser Jaime Lannister; a lethal swordsman, secret father of King Joffrey Baratheon, who was born of the incestuous union between Jaime and his twin sister Cersei. Until this point Jaime Lannister has been one of the worst enemies of the Stark family, the lead characters of the novels, however A Storm of Swords provides an intriguing insight into his actions and motivations and in spite of all your previous judgement readers can not help but find that he grows on them.

Other chapters in the book are told through the eyes of the Stark children, Arya, Bran and Sansa and their bastard born Brother Jon Snow, a member of the Night’s Watch. The children have been separated since the murder of their father in King’s Landing in the first novel and the uprising of their brother Robb as King in the North. Arya is crossing the war torn Westeros, heading for Riverrun where her mother and brother are seeking refuge in the castle in which Catelyn Stark spent her childhood. Sansa is still trapped in King’s Landing, where she is forced to behave as though she loves and is loyal to King Joffrey and his mother Queen Regent Cersei. Bran and the youngest Stark Rickon have separated and are both crossing the North in search of safety and answers, whilst Jon is beyond the Wall feigning loyalty to the wilding free folk in order to infiltrate the army that is intending on breaching the divide between the Seven Kingdoms.

Personally the story that is taking place in the North is the one that intrigued me the most; the magic slowly building in Bran and the danger facing Jon Snow and his brothers in the Night’s Watch, particularly the overweight Samwell Tarly who finds himself lost in the wilderness of the Haunted Forest and face to face with deathly spirits and long dead creatures. Here the dark and magical nature of fantasy is explored with a strangely intimate nature; the chapters of Jon, Sam and Bran allow you an insight to the growing magic of the novel but with a personal edge. Bran finds himself on a journey of discovery, beginning to understand his own ability to transport his mind into the body of other men and creatures, whilst Jon finds his loyalty torn between the woman he loves and the oath he swore and Sam, the self confessed craven, finds his bravery is tested over and over again. Adventures with wolves, abandoned castles and ghostly wights fill the pages of these chapters and Martin’s writing brings the chilly and haunting landscape of life beyond the Wall to life with such force and grace that you find your insides knotted with anticipation.

Further into Westeros Lady Catelyn Stark has released Jaime Lannister and bid her servant Brienne of Tarth, a female knight, to see him safely to King’s Landing and exchange him for her daughter Sansa who Catelyn believes is one of only two of her remaining children. At Riverrun Catelyn watches her son Robb conduct his army and make many a brave and foolish decision. These chapters allow you a wonderfully maternal insight into the war, where Catelyn, desperate and grief stricken, will do anything to reunite herself with her remaining children. Robb finds himself wed to a young girl, Jeyne, breaking a promise made to one of his least trustworthy lords. The chapters that surround the wedding conducted to make amends for Robb’s behaviour are enough to leave you feeling sick from the tension and tearful from the outcome. The hours following these few chapters, which fall a little after the mid point of the novel and the start of the second section, left me wordless until I was able to pick up the book again and read on long enough to find out the fate of the characters. Here Martin displays his prowess for tension and suspense, many a chapter ends on a cliff hanger, leaving the reader desperate to read on but this part of the book leaves you so shocked and in such disbelief that you find yourself almost unable to concentrate on anything else.

The weakest chapters of the books are those told through Davos and Queen Daenerys Stormborn, the latter of which finally begin to pick up toward the end of the book when it is revealed that she has liars and spies in her closest circle. The story of Davos however simply serves to integrate King Stannis Baratheon into the book and they lack a strong hook or the elements of tension that run so strongly through the rest of the book.

Meanwhile Arya and Sansa Stark, Jaime and his dwarf brother Tyrion Lannister, and smuggler knight Davos Seaworth are all trying to find their own place within the war. Arya is on the road to Riverrun when she is caught by a group of outlaws headed by knights once loyal to her father and the old king. These outlaws worship a god unfamiliar to Arya, who has the power to bring the dead back to life. The knowledge Arya gains of this strange god is coupled with the mysteries of the sacred weirwood trees that dot the lands of Westeros and the disparate wolf dreams that haunt Arya at night. The stirrings of magic that Arya encounters whilst travelling through the wild add another layer to the dark and monstrous magic that Jon and Sam are experiencing beyond the Wall.

In King’s Landing Tyrion Lannister is locked in a constant battle for power against his sister, which he finds himself at the loosing end of upon the arrival of his father, Lord Tywin Lannister, who takes up the role of King’s Hand. Lord Tywin forces marriages of conveyance upon Sansa and Tyrion and his grandson Joffrey, in an attempt to forge peace across the shattered Kingdom. However this simply leads to more tension and tragedy within the castle walls and a death that marks a turn in the fate of Tyrion Lannister forever. Eventually Tryion’s older brother Jaime finds him reunited with his sister and a member of the King’s Guard, an honourable group of knights sworn to the protection of the boy king.

The length of this third instalment in the Song of Ice and Fire series is quite daunting at first, however as you read you discover that to the books detriment much of the length lies in Martin’s penchant for lists and description; some of which is important, others of which are simply indulgent and un-necessary. Martin seems to relish naming all the guests at each feast, describing the sigils of their lordly house or the glamour of their clothing. This quickly becomes very tedious and you can not help but zone out or skim read these paragraphs. Once you become accustomed to Martin’s writing you find yourself able to skip large chunks of text on instinct without missing anything of importance. It is this aspect of the book that leaves you exhausted after reading only a short part of the book, and realistically leaves you feeling the book needed a stronger editorial hand. The cliff hanger endings of the chapters help to keep you interested however, although I worry that without them it could be poor enough to put you off reading the book all together.